Days 9 & 10: Veloce nel Verde

We had to combine two days into one post because we arrived late in Portland yesterday and had to find a car wash (we are, after all, at an Alfa convention and the car had to look its best). Three thousand miles of bug splat and road goo just had to be removed. We left Lewiston, Idaho, still following the trail of Lewis and Clark.

Encountering the rolling hills and wheat fields of eastern Washington....

Fields of Al(fal)fa

We followed the Columbia River to Portland on the Washington side. A snow-capped Mt. Hood came into view.

This morning at 8:00 am, the Alfas gathered for an Oregon coast tour that took us as far as Astoria, Oregon, and Cape Disappointment (the end of the trail for Lewis and Clark) just north of the border in Washington.

A 1960 Giulietta spider sandwich at one of the rest stops on the tour.

The Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean as seen from the Astoria Column. The bas-relief murals on the column depict the earliest moments in Northwest history. We ascended the 164-step spiral staircase to take in the view.

Day 8: On the Trail of Lewis & Clark

Nature schmature, today it was all about the car! We left Livingston, MT, in cold, overcast, rainy weather with the top up. The trip on Interstate 90 to Missoula was highly forgettable. We thought this might be a throw away day.

However, once in a while things turn out amazingly well…this was one of those days! Once we turned onto Route 12 in Missoula, The Northwest Passage Scenic Byway, and got to Lolo Pass, things took a turn for the best. The sun came out, the top came down and we began a journey following Lewis and Clark who crossed Lolo Pass in 1805 on their way to the Pacific coast.

First some car history: The Alfa Romeo Spider was introduced in 1966 and was the last design of Battista “Pinin” Farina. Pininfarina is the design firm noted for its work with Ferrari. Besides the Volkswagon Beetle, the Alfa spider was the longest running vehicle line of the 20th century (1966-1994). Only 190 1994s were produced and numbered as Commemorative Editions. Ours is number 154. The spider is a rear wheel drive monocoque chassis with a two-litre double overhead cam engine putting out 124 horsepower. It is an almost perfectly balanced automobile. I’ve done some modification to the suspension adding Koni shocks all around; a chassis stiffener, manufactured by Ereminas Imports of Torrington, CT; and sport springs and bushings from International Auto of Charlottesville, VA. Our spider rides like it’s on rails!

About 10 years ago, Jean and her parents got me for Christmas a day at the Skip Barber Driving School at Limerock Park in Lakeville, CT. I learned how to handle the car on a skidpad, how to threshold brake, autocross, and the physics of how a car handles and reacts in many different situations.

Today’s drive on the Northwest Passage Byway allowed me to put many of those lessons to the test. The spider sings between 2800 to 3300 rpm. By never looking at the speedometer and only driving by the tachometer, it was possible to withhold use of the brakes for 40-mile stretches. Hands at 9 and 3 (there’s a reason Pininfarina designed the steering wheel with two handles at this exact location) and by using third, fourth, and fifth gears carefully keeping the rpms between the optimum 2800-3200, the twists and turns of the Northwest Passage Byway could be negotiated without brakes.

There is nothing quite like the top down in perfect weather. Besides a panoramic view, we could feel the coolness of the trees and smell their fragrance. Jean got nature, and I got one of the best 200-mile drives of my life. The pictures aren’t great today; you simply had to be there!

Approaching Lolo Pass. The pine forest is incredibly dense.

The Byway begins.

Paralleling the Lochsa River.

We encountered this sign again and again.

"The railroad on stilts." The Camas Prairie Railroad was built by the Union Pacific and Northwest Pacific Railroads. There are more than a dozen trestles in one five-mile stretch.

Day 7: Grand Teton & Yellowstone

It’s all about nature… Our day was spent in two of our beautiful national parks—Grand Teton and Yellowstone. Surely these parks warrant more time, but since we were only able to pass through, we tried to make the most of it. We happened upon some wildlife we had never seen before. Very early on in Grand Teton we observed the north end of this southbound moose feeding on aquatic plants.

We saw many more bison in Yellowstone, but we got a good look at two from the walkway at Mud Volcano. This guy was lazing in the sauna… And all the visitors waited for this guy to cross the path and make his way up the hill to graze. You don’t want to upset a bison.

We also saw this bull elk in the grass. With binoculars, but far out of the reach of our camera lens, we saw a grizzly bear too.

Pictures just don’t capture the awe-inspiring landscapes, but we tried. Grand Teton glacier and Cathedral Group.

Since we had been in Yellowstone before, we went to the parts of the park we hadn’t seen before.

West Thumb Geyser Basin—a thermal pool with Yellowstone Lake in the background, North America’s largest mountain lake.

Mud Volcano

Upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone River at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the Illini are well represented.

At Mammoth Hot Springs, terraces are formed of travertine (calcium carbonate).

Day 6: Tetons here we come

Today we drove from Thermopolis to Teton Village in Grand Teton National Park. The Spider is often a conversation starter. Stan here came up to us to ask about the car and 20 minutes later we knew his life story. Stan is 94 years young. His parents were Icelandic immigrants to the U.S., but he was born in Canada. He left home at the age of 13 and served in World War II. He had recently driven from his home in Texas to Wyoming and told us he stays in Thermopolis for about 2 months out of the year—not for the hot springs, because “hot water is not good for people.” We asked if he was a standup comedian because in those 20 minutes he used a good repertoire of jokes.

Once we got going, we passed through the Wind River Canyon and the Wind River Indian Reservation. It was a good road and the grade was not that severe ascending to 9,000 feet at the continental divide.

Our friend, Kristin, told us to be on the lookout for a giant taxidermic jackalope on exhibit in Dubois, WY, on the way to Jackson and the Tetons. A cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope, we were lucky to find it; the jackalope is the rarest of creatures.

Finally, the majestic Tetons were in sight. Tomorrow we explore the park a bit.

Day 5: Custer to Thermopolis

Today we travelled from Custer to Thermopolis, Wyoming. On the way out of Custer we caught a glimpse of the unfinished Crazy Horse monument.

After a scenic drive through the Black Hills National Forest, we passed through Deadwood, SD. Apparently, the town began illegally during the Black Hills gold mining boom in 1876 on land designated as Indian Territory (what else is new). It’s also famous for gaming, the place that Wild Bill Hickok was murdered and then buried, and Kevin Costner owns a restaurant in town. Oh, also his film, Dances with Wolves, was filmed nearby.

This cowboy and his two horses waited patiently for the light to turn green in downtown Deadwood.

We had to depart from our two-lane road rule and take the interstate for several miles. But if we had not taken the interstate, we would have missed Gillette, WY, the probable source of the coal we saw being hauled on the long trains in Nebraska. It looked like it was quite an operation!

We went through the Big Horn Mountains and reached an elevation at the pass of 9,666 feet. Signs along the way pointed to rock belonging to geologic periods, the oldest we saw formed 3 billion years ago.

Thermopolis is the site of Hot Springs State Park, the largest single mineral hot spring. The temperature of the water out of the ground is a constant 135° F that has to be cooled to enjoy, plus there’s the added bonus of the distinct odor of sulfur in the air. Revisiting yesterday’s adventures with some more details: In the Black Hills, we saw 1 buffalo, mule deer, wild turkeys, antelope, birds of various descriptions, prairie dogs, interesting flora specimens used by Native Americans, and 10,000 year-old petroglyphs. Our guide at the horse sanctuary cut a stem from the prickly poppy to show us the bright yellow liquid the plant produces which the Native Americans used to paint their skin. It was amazing how much it looked like yellow paint, the consistency a little thicker than watercolors and glossy when applied. It stayed on our skin until we washed it off.